


Monster Hunter Memoirs: Wolf and Red

by Shanejayell



Category: Monster Hunter International Series - Larry Correia
Genre: F/F, F/M, Original Character(s), semi-canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:20:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22917607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shanejayell/pseuds/Shanejayell
Summary: Monster Hunters International too costly? Do you want a more personal touch? Or are you just dumb and will hire anybody? Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters are here for YOU!(Was originally a Original Work, but I realized it was similar to Monster Hunters Int, so I edited it a bit.)





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This did not start out as a Monster Hunters International fanfic, it started as a 'semi-original' story. But after recently reading a lot of Monster Hunter stories, I realized it could sort of fit the universe. Much like John Ringo's Monster Hunter Memoirs, there will be continuity differences etc etc etc.

Also this has femslash content, so if that's not your thing, you might want to skip this.

Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters!

Hans, the assistant mayor of the small German town looked at the two figures who had responded to the ad in 'Soldiers of Fortune' and wondered if this was a good idea after all. They were both women, startlingly enough, and worse than that they were about as far from what he imagined mercenaries to look like.

The one woman had long, brown hair that had been given a red tint, shimmering in the sun. She was in fine shape, something that was very evident from her scanty clothing. She wore what might be a scanty red t-shirt but was probably a sports bra, brown leather shorts that looked like they were painted on and hiking boots. Slung over that were several belts and slings with various weapons, including two very long knives at her waist, a pump action shotgun over one shoulder and a machine gun hanging at her side.

The other woman was dressed a bit more reasonably, the tall brown haired woman looming protectively over her companion. Military print trousers covered her legs and a cut off t-shirt with matching pattern covered her top, along with pistols holstered on gun belts. Her piercing eyes were a odd yellow-brown, her gaze roving over the small hamlet.

"Mr Olsteen?" the smaller woman smiled, offering her hand as they met on the street outside the local tavern, "I'm Ray-ann Holt, and this is my partner Heather."

"I'm Wolf," Heather corrected with a careful smile that didn't show teeth, "and people usually call her Red, for obvious reasons."

"Please, come in and sit down," Hans gestured to the tavern.

The tavern was full of old world charm, though in this case that meant is was well over a hundred years old and in good repair. The heavy oak beams and supports made one think of old times before building codes, but the structure seemed sturdy enough as they went to the wooden table and sat on cushioned wooden seats. A waitress in authentic Bavarian garb looked miserable as she took their orders, returning with the local beer.

"Here's the fee we owe you for coming out here," Hans handed over the six hundred American, not looking happy about paying it.

Red took it calmly, "Just getting out here and home will kill this, mister."

She then passed the money to Wolf, who swiftly counted it and put it away. "So," she looked at Hans intently, "what's the job?"

Hans hesitated. There had been few responses to their ad in the magazine, and only these two had actually been willing to come out here, but he had doubts about this. The young man took his cap off and pushed his brown hair back, then put it pack on as he said, "We have a very... unusual problem we need you to solve."

Red sipped her beer, making a carefully concealed face at the taste. "Spit it out, man," she chided, thumping the mug down.

"There is a vampire terrorizing our town," Hans admitted, his face going nearly as red as his shirt, "and we need you to kill it." He expected them to laugh, but both women looked intrigued instead. "You believe me?" he asked.

Red gave Wolf a disgusted look and muttered, "We really need to get a higher profile." She looked back at Hans, "Sir, we kill crazy shit for a living."

Hans visibly slumped in his chair with relief. "The police didn't believe us," he sighed, "and the disappearing tourists are killing our businesses. The vampires.." he quickly corrected himself, "vampire has to go."

Wolf could see what he meant. Other than tourists this little place in the mountains didn't have much to offer, and if something scared them off, well...

"Which is why the chamber of commerce ran the ad," Red nodded. She leaned forward, "So, the fee quoted in the ad was 5000 local currency. You realize we only take US funds?"

"Miss, we're a poor town and have limited means," Hans countered as they fell to bargaining.

About twenty minutes later Hans had agreed to $5000 US, but only a thousand up front, the rest on completion of the job. Confirmation was a digital photo of the vampire's corpse, or possibly his fangs, whichever was easier. He saw them off at the edge of town, watching the two head to their rented jeep before heading out to the supposed den of the vampire.

"You noticed he slipped a few times while briefing us?" Wolf asked as they drove up the hill, the jeep bouncing slightly, "Said vampires instead of vampire."

"Duh," Red was slouched in the passenger seat, her boots on the dash board. "Since when has a employer not lied about the job?" she asked wryly.

"Gonna bill them extra?" Wolf asked as they followed a turn, the abandoned structure coming into sight atop the hill.

"Depends on how many vamps," Red shrugged.

Red sat up as Wolf pulled them up against a strand of trees, partially shading them from being seen. She made sure her knives, shotgun and machine gun were in place, then carefully pulled a trench coat over top. Red settled it into place cautiously, making sure no weapons snagged.

"Gonna slow you down," Wolf cautioned, staying in just her t-shirt and trousers.

"Element of surprise," Red shrugged, "I'd rather they not see I was armed 'till it's too late."

Red and Wolf headed up the path side by side, following the marked signs to the 'historic castle.' As far as Wolf could tell it was a half collapsed wreck, but she knew tourists would probably love it. There was enough 'castle' left to hold up a outer wall, several turrets and it looked like about half the roof, but much of the rest had collapsed or been burned away by fire. Peering through the front gate she could see the interior was deeply shadowed, just the sort of place vampires liked in the daytime.

"Oh, it's so darling!" Red exclaimed it total fake tourist mode. "Let's get a picture."

Taking out a camera Red lead the way into the structure, both well aware they were being watched. They snapped shots of the walls, the shattered remnants of a stain glass window and other features as they willingly ventured deeper inside. The chamber farthest from the entrance seemed the most intact, the ceiling half shielding the inside and cutting off almost all sunlight.

"Welcome," a rich, cultured voice said from the shadows.

"Eeek!" Red fake squeaked cutely, holding onto Wolf's arm in mock terror.

Thankfully the vampire was not dressed like Bella Lugosi, but instead in simple, dark garments. He had, stereotypically, slicked his black hair back and wore a opera cape, but those were forgivable because they had style, and he seemed fit for his five foot tall frame. To a expert the signs of vampirism were obvious, from the white green pallor to the hint of fang as he talked.

"Wha... what do you want?!" Red stammered.

The final proof he was a vampire wafted over to them, the invisible but not unscented pheromones that vampires used to confuse their prey. "I simply want you to meet my friends," he purred as a nearly invisible door opened on one side of the room.

Two more vampires emerged, neither as pretty as the first one. The oldest looking one did go for the Lugosi look, made worse for the fact he was barely four foot tall and too pudgy to carry it off. The other might have been handsome once, but scars ran across one side of his head, and he had also lost a eye, both presumably before he was turned.

"So, have you come for dinner?" the little Lugosi wanna-be intoned in his deepest voice.

Red couldn't help it, she just lost it at that point. Her chortles took all three vamps aback while Wolf reached out to hold her giggling girlfriend up. "Oh come on," Red snickered as she recovered her wits, "could you be any more cliché?"

Two of the vamps looked offended, but the scarred man put a hand up to his mouth to hide a smile, making Wolf like him a bit better. "Red, that pretty boy looks just like the sparkly types in that bad movie," she noted, "can I have him?"

"Sure, why not?" Red shrugged as she said, "I owe you for making you sit through Twilight in the theaters, anyway."

"Thanks," Wolf grinned as she charged, startling all three vamps.

As Wolf ran, the reason she wore the baggy combat gear became apparent: to fit her transforming physique. Her form grew and shifted as she reached the pretty boy, a well muscular woman becoming a extremely well muscled werewolf. Her clawed hand swiped at the boy as he leaped back, the other two vampires scrambling.

Red swept the trench coat back with one arm then grabbed the machine gun, aiming it at the little vampire as she opened up on him,. On full auto the gun roared as it sprayed the little man with bullets, sending him reeling backwards as blood and ichor sprayed outward.

"Shit!" the scarred vamp bolted out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

"Aaargh!" the pudgy vamp made a incoherent noise as bullets shredded his clothes and dug into his flesh, sending crimson flowing onto the stone floor.

"What are you?!" the pretty boy vamp yelped as he tried to evade Wolf, a losing proposition if there ever was one. The werewolf kept herself between him and the door, not to mention the archway leading outside. Her claws had already raked his clothes, drawing blood, and he had nearly taken a shot to the head.

He had delivered a few hits too, and she knew her ribs would be sore in the morning, but that just made the fight more interesting. "We're mercenaries," Wolf gave him a very fang full grin, her mouth and face partially transformed. She preferred using this mid-form to pure wolf, it left her reasoning powers more intact than they would otherwise be.

"Ha!" the boy dodged and closed in close, grabbing at her as he tried to use his vampiric strength against her. Sadly Wolf had studied judo, using the force of his own actions against him and sending him crashing to the floor.

"Yes!" Wolf yelped as she swung a hay-maker at his head.

"Don't...," he whimpered just as she hit.

There was a wet, meaty crunch as Wolf's blow hit the upper part of his face, caving in the bond and flesh. With the ease of long practice she dug her heavy clawed hands into the gory brain meat and pulled, crushing the mass into a bloody mess.

"All right, Bella," Red purred as she swung the smoking machine gun aside and drew a long, sword-like knife, "do you want to do this the easy way or the hard one?"

"Don't kill me!" he gibbered, a gurgling in his voice showing there was blood in his lungs, "we're rich! I can pay you!"

"Sorry, buddy," Rose made a two handed swing, "signed a contract."

Her first blow cut deep into the meaty neck but didn't sever the head, sending blood spraying and the vampire convulsing. Swiftly she finished him off, putting him out of his misery, then drove the blade into his brain case. She photographed both corpses with the still intact camera, then frowned at her and Wolf's victims.

"Think we should get the fangs too?" Red wondered.

"Better be safe than sorry," Wolf shrugged, pulling a set of pliers from a back pocket, reverting to mostly human form to do it.

As Wolf went to work with her pliers on the fangs, she mused how much vampire slaying had changed with time. In the old days, you had to stake, behead and occasionally burn a vampire just to defeat their damned rapid healing. But now vampire lore took a back seat to automatic weapons and explosive projectiles, both of which could overwhelm vampire healing as long as you made sure to take out the brain.

Red used the trench coat to mop up the worst blood off her, then tossed it aside as they advanced on the door. Shifting back to hybrid form Wolf tried it, finding it locked, then Red smiled as she pulled out the shotgun. "Allow me," she grinned.

BOOM! The first blast from the shotgun blew the lock away, then Red kicked at the door, sending it swinging inward. Both women went in side by side, each watching for attack as they entered the room. The scarred vampire was, surprisingly, just casually leaning against the wall, watching their entry with some amusement.

"Why haven't you bolted?" Wolf asked dryly, her claws out and body ready to leap.

"Where too?" he waved at the dimly lit, windowless room, "I forgot there was no exit from this room." Wryly he added, "And unlike the movies, I can't do the turning to mist and wiggling out of cracks bit."

"Heh," Red smiled slightly, reloading the shotgun with a single pump. "You wanna give up easily?" she asked.

"Any way I can talk you into letting me go?" he asked charmingly.

"Sorry," Wolf said apologetically.

"Fair enough," the scarred man shrugged. "You were sent by the village?" he asked. When they nodded he grinned evilly, "Ask those guys about the other mercenaries they sent up here."

"They sent...?!" Red growled.

"You can prove that?" Wolf asked.

"Check one of the side rooms, we stashed their gear there," the scarred man said. As they gave him questioning looks he said, "You may kill me, but by telling you I can get a little revenge on the jerk who sent you."

"Got any preferences?" Red offered.

"Make it fast," Scar answered.

"You got it," Red swung up the shotgun, pulling the trigger. BOOM! At near point blank range the gun blew out a large chunk of his chest, slamming him backwards. There was a flicker of life in his eyes so she pumped and fired again, putting it out.

"All right," Wolf said as she got her trusty pliers out again, "I'll finish up here, you do a search. I bet at least some of the victims had cash, we could get lucky."

It was late evening by the time the two women's rental jeep bounced into town, the back loaded up with whatever useful supplies they could loot. The town's people came out of their homes, murmuring in astonishment as they pulled up to the tavern, both bloody but intact women getting out and waiting patiently

Hans, probably called by one of the watchers, hurried up a few minutes later, taking the blood splattered women in with wide eyes. "Wha...," he started, cleared his throst and continued, "what happened? Is the vampire dead?"

"The vampires," Red put a emphasis on the plural, "are dead, all three of 'em."

Han's eyes were wide with a mix of fear and worry. "You can prove that?" he asked quietly.

"We have teeth and fangs," Wolf drawled, giving him a disdainful look. "And why didn't you tell us about the OTHER teams you sent up there?"

Han's face went almost as pale as a vampire's. "Other teams?" he squeaked, trying to look innocent and failing utterly.

"You lied about how many vampires were up there," Red jabbed him with a finger, "AND you didn't tell us other teams had went in! We deserve a bonus!"

"No, we'll pay you the remainder of the five thousand," Hans swiftly said, "we did not agree on a bonus for extra vampires!"

"Maybe not," Wolf offered mildly, "but do you really want us hanging around town, telling stories? I'm sure the vampire castle and the underpaying city council would be really popular."

"You wouldn't dare," Hans hissed.

"Try us," Red grinned, looking particularly scary with the blood splatter against her cheek.

Hans sputtered indignantly, but Wolf had to hide a smile. He was beaten, and they all knew it. A half hour later the women left town, pockets heavier by two thousand in US currency, in addition to the owed money. With the salvage from up at the castle and the money belts a few of the mercs had carried, they had made a tidy profit.

Red was slouched in the passenger seat, humming softly as she bounced her muddy boots on the dashboard. "You know, when I try to imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't met you bringing food to granny," Red mused, "I figure I would have died of boredom, or something."

"I love you too," Wold laughed, leaning over to kiss her gently. And with that, Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf rode off into the sunset together.

End...?

Notes: Not THE Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, tho who knows, maybe they are? Lol Inspired by the two of them, at least, and I've wanted to do a team up like this for awhile.


	2. Chapter 2

Wolf and Red: Odd Job

From Soldier of the Fantastic, Issue #125

_Being a professional mercenary and monster hunter pays okay, only. Yes, it sounds glamorous at first, going to distant parts of the world, meeting interesting people and killing them, but quite often it was only a break even proposition. And of course there are the times you end up taking a loss, like when your employer buys it._

_So the first rule of mercenaries is this: Get paid in advance! And if you can't do that, get a good advance. The standard is half your pay in advance, half on completion of the job. And remember to negotiate expenses separate!_

Wolf looked at her partner with some amusement, her shaggy brown hair falling around her face. She usually chopped it short when they got a job, and let it grow out a bit between assignments as they hung out in their apartment. "Still trying to come up with something to write?" she asked.

Red pouted, sitting on the couch with Wolf, her laptop across her shapely legs. Like most mercs she traveled light, so she had invested in a moderately priced laptop rather than a PC. It was small, fast, and if all hell broke loose they could stuff the thing in a bag and bolt.

"Yeah," Red admitted as she stretched out her legs on their couch and wiggled bare toes, "Soldier of the Fantastic liked my earlier piece and want more. The problem is I'm not sure what to write about."

"Write about us," Wolf shrugged. She had the usual devil may care attitude most werewolves had, generally. Red figured the near invulnerability might be the cause, or maybe their being more in touch with their inner puppy.

"I thought we were trying not to be noticed TOO much?" Red asked Wolf wryly, her red-brown hair flowing down her back. There were a lot of dangerous occult critters out there, and at least some did not appreciate having the light of publicity shone on them. In fact more than a few were willing to kill to stay hidden.

"Well, leave out the werewolf bits," Wolf said breezily as she kissed Red's neck, "you can even change our names if you like."

Red cooed softly, arching up her neck to be kissed. "You know," she mused as she began to type, "that's not a bad idea."

For Soldier of the Fantastic, Issue #144

_The critical thing about dealing with a zombie infestation is to get in there early! This goes for employers too, the absolute worse thing you can do in a zombie attack is dawdle. Most, if not all zombies, are infected with a virus that is both incredibly resistant to treatment and is virulent as hell. The only way a small group of mercenaries can deal with such an attack is to get in fast, confine the zombies to a small area and burn them out._

_And don't assume that just head shooting a zombie will kill it. While zombies are not as tough as vampires and other undead, they are incredibly fucking resilient. They can shrug off fatal damage to any normal person, and can stitch themselves back together enough to attack again even after what should be crippling wounds. You can't just kill it, you must destroy it!_

_Once zombies completely break containment or have spread out too far to be contained, you're left with only one option left. Carpet bomb the whole region, innocents be damned, until nothing is left standing. I know it seems harsh and cruel, but once things have reached that point you're facing zombie apocalypse conditions._

_Or as a wise man once said: Nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure._

"That is totally ripping off Aliens," Wolf noted mildly, reading over her shoulder.

"You wanna write this?" Red asked wryly.

"Nah, you're doing fine," Wolf laughed.

_We were called in by the World Health Organization, of all people, when their agents stopped reporting in from a remote Chinese village. The WHO monitors disease outbreaks around the world, as well as publishing alerts on a major health crisis like H1N1. What most people don't know is that people working for WHO tend to run into a lot of stuff that's from the supernatural side of the tracks, and occasionally have to call in people like us._

_Just getting INTO China was a bitch and a half. We couldn't enter as soldiers of fortune, obviously, and getting good fake papers is a bitch. Instead we had to go in as 'eco-tourists' hiking remote parts of China, which also meant we couldn't get any equipment in with us. Thankfully the black and gray market in China was as busy as ever._

"Not going to mention the official we had to bribe to get into the country?" Wolf asked Red curiously, still reading along.

"If they didn't know we had to bribe someone, their total armatures," Red answered briskly, "besides, we might need to bribe him again, someday."

"True," Wolf agreed.

_Sadly we were only able to obtain light arms, pistols and knock off rifles, along with some grenades and incendiaries._

_Side note: In fighting monsters, fire is almost always your friend. Almost all supernatural creatures are vulnerable to fire to one extent or another. In many cases, fire can be the only way to reliably destroy a creature and prevent it from being revived._

"Don't remind me," Wolf shuddered slightly. She could regenerate from burns but they slowed her down more than any other injury. And enough fire, hot enough, could kill her.

"Sorry, love," Red patted her arm.

_We didn't abandon our cover story as we went through China to the incident point, but we stretched it pretty bad. To keep off the government radar we stuck with ground transport like rail and car, planes usually requiring you to leave a name somewhere official, but we made good time to the attacked region._

_For some reason incidents like this happen in remote areas, and in this case we were pretty lucky. The village was several days walk from another town, though there were shacks dotted around the country side, and none of the zombies reached civilization._

_And yes, the WHO had indeed run into a undead infestation. The first zombie attacked us before we hit the edge of the village, lumbering up the road at a fair clip of speed. Wolf shot the legs away with her rifle then we head shot it, before dousing it in gas and setting it aflame._

"You head shot it, not we," Wolf noted mildly.

"Artistic license," Red shrugged casually as she said, "besides, it sounds kinda boastful if I say I did everything."

_One of the odder traits of zombies is their tendency to mob together. Even when it would be wiser to spread out and try to cover an entire area, they tend to clump together into groups. That's useful and dangerous to monster hunters, in about equal amounts. On one hand they're all together to deal with, but they can also overwhelm you in numbers._

_We advanced through the huts and small buildings, sweeping the area with our guns. There were no people visible, and no small animals around either. (Always remember that animals are often smarter than humans, and they will split if something nasty is around.) As we neared the center of town we heard the low moan most zombies seem to make, instead of talking._

_It's hard to describe zombies, to people who haven't seen them. Their not exactly dead, despite looking like it, but their biology isn't human any more. The skin is pulled tight to the flesh, with no fat remaining at all. They look decayed because of the gray skin tone, and some rotting caused by bites and other wounds. And don't be tricked by the lurching! They just LOOK slow, in fact they can cover ground dangerously fast._

_It was the combination of their speed and resilience that determined out plan of attack. Picking a defensive position we prepared a rudimentary gun emplacement, then lobbed grenades into the mass of zombies. While the explosives didn't kill too many they did both direct damage and spread shrapnel, wounding still more. After searching rather raggedly for who hurt them the zombies stumbled upon our position and charged._

_If you've never seen a zombie charge, it's hard to convey what it's like. First the smell of rotting meat and decay hits you, then you see them coming at you. Your brain KNOWS there's no way something that broken down could be going that fast, so you literally disbelieve your eyes. And finally the moaning cry washes over you, full of nothing but hunger. And bad breath, assuming you're let them get too close._

"With my nose I don't have to get too close," Wolf remembered, grimacing. "I think my eyes were watering for days."

"Poor thing," Red twisted around a bit to kiss her gently. "I'm gonna have to skip over when you heroically ripped the heads off a few of them."

"I let them get too damn near anyway," Wolf shrugged philosophically.

_The rifles we had acquired weren't full auto, which put us at something of a disadvantage. Still, using short bursts we went for destroying the zombies' lower limbs, slowing them down. The zombies kept coming no matter how many we crippled, entirely uncaring that their mob was being scythed down b y our firepower._

"I like 'scythed down,' that's a nice turn of phrase," Wolf noted, making Red blush.

_Our rifles ran dry on bullets as the last few staggered forward, but Wolf was ready with our backup pistols. Firing one in each hand she blinded the zombies with head shots, then crippled them like their fellows. We circled the still moving mass with gasoline then used the incendiary grenades to set them afire, burning the zombies to ashes._

"There is no way that someone is going to take out zombies with just pistols," Wolf shook her head wryly. "But thanks."

Red reached over and tickled Wolf, making her giggle. "Well, it's not like I can say you went wolf and ripped their heads off," she pointed out reasonably.

_Sweeping the town afterward in a larger hut we found a improvised 'larder' where the zombies were storing a few survivors for later consumption. One of the World Health Organization people was there, thankfully unharmed. Sadly the others had already been eaten, or were presumably in the mass of attacking zombies._

_The WHO paid a reward for the recovery of their man, as well as our fee and costs. The government of China eventually found out what happened and, officially, denied anything had happened. Privately we were both rewarded by a member of the committee, for 'unnamed services to the state' or some such._

"Are you going to mention that China told us not to come back, or else?" Wolf asked curiously, wrapping her arms around Red.

"Hmm,." Red snuggled back into the taller woman's embrace. "No, I don't think so," she said after thinking about it a moment, "the Chinese aren't stupid, after all. If something nasty enough hits they WILL call someone like us in, and it could be us if I don't burn any bridges behind us."

"Assuming we take the job," Wolf grumbled, "I hate working for assholes like them."

"Maybe so, but they're well paying assholes,' Red laughed.

_In conclusion, there are several main points to be remembered in dealing with zombies. Respond quickly, bring sufficient high powered weaponry, do not underestimate either their speed or resistance to damage and finish them with fire. Follow these general guidelines and you will not go very wrong._

About a week later Red got confirmation that the article had been accepted, and two more weeks before they got a complimentary copy of the magazine along with a paltry check. Still, it was easy money and hadn't taken TOO much work.

"Argh!" Red yelped, making Wolf look up from where she was working underneath their old kitchen sink.

Wolf slid out gracefully, a bit of grease smudging her nose. "What is it?" she asked calmly, her sense of smell telling her that Red was more annoyed than alarmed.

"They liked the first two so much they want a regular feature," Red growled.

"Isn't that good news?" Wolf asked reasonably.

"But I don't know what to write!" Red wailed.

"Oy," Wolf shook her head, sighing.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters!

Three

The two women sat in business class, lounging in their chairs as they flew to Japan. They had chosen business class deliberately, more roomy than coach yet not as pricy as first class. Plus, they got free wifi and could surf the net on the way there.

"Why are you checking out 4chan again?" Wolf had to ask, the tall, brown haired woman dressed in a t-shirt and army pants.

Red scowled, the red-brown haired woman looking at the screen as she said, "The Japanese are very, very strange. We need to keep an eye on 'em so the oddness doesn't ambush us." The other woman was just wearing a skimpy tank top and cut off shorts, the oversized laptop resting on the seat divider between them.

"Eww, vore," Wolf noted as Red advanced a page, "I've never understood how anyone can find being eaten alive kinky."

"Hell yeah," Red agreed, "I've nearly had it happen to me." She clicked another page, "Damn it, I'm SURE the cutesy monster girls are a plot."

"You think a cute spider girl will make someone not resist if a giant spider is about to eat 'em?" Wolf asked skeptically.

"No, but it might make them hesitate," Red pointed out stubbornly.

"Well, maybe," Wolf admitted, sitting back as she opened up the envelope that had been sent with their transport money.

The Japanese were good to do business with, in Wolf's opinion. Yes, they did porn that would make a sailor blush and were responsible for most of the sick shit on the internet, but they paid promptly, they didn't hold back information and they usually backed their operatives to the hilt. The last time they had been in Japan things had gone completely bad, but their contact got them out of the country and they even got paid.

This time there was a series of unusual killings going on in and around Tokyo city. There were male and female victims, found in various places, with the only common feature being that they had seemingly... exploded. Something had burst out of the people like a bad extra from Alien, it appeared.

"Eww, yuck!" Wolf winced, looking at a photo of someone burst open, surrounded by gore.

Red looked over and made a gagging noise. "Oh yeah, that is nasty," she agreed, peering at the photo. "Lemme guess, that's what we're looking into?"

"Yeah, looks like it," Wolf agreed. "This is gonna suck," she noted as the plane began to descend, and Red didn't disagree.

The two women checked through customs, but as expected their weapons got stopped. Just like last time they would be held a few days until strings could be pulled, and their various guns and grenades would be freed.

Leaving the rather stunned customs agents sorting through the crate of weapons Wolf and Red advanced through the airport, only to see a very embarrassed looking police officer. The blond haired woman was holding up a hand lettered sign reading "Wolf and Red."

"Think that's our contact?" Red guessed, adjusting the shoulder bag full of her spare clothes.

Wolf chuckled, "Looks like it." She waved to the cop with her own satchel as she called, "Hey, over here!"

"Ah,"the young woman jumped, fumbling with the sign then dropping it. "Hello," she smiled weakly, "you're Ray-ann Holt and Heather, correct?"

"Wolf and Red," Red corrected, shaking the woman's hand as she looked down at the smaller woman. "Officer Tobina?"

"Akira Tobina," the young woman bowed slightly as she said, "the Chief sent me to be your liaison and local guide."

"Nice to meet you, Tobina," Wolf smiled as she shook her hand too. "You been briefed on why we're here?" she asked as they walked out of the airport together.

"Just call me Akira, please," she smiled. As she unlocked the unmarked police car she said, "You are professional monster hunters investigating the recent deaths, and the Chief has instructed me to offer all reasonable aid."

"Our weapons got seized by customs," Red noted as she sat down in the back seat with Wolf, "can you get them released any faster?"

"I'm sorry," Akira actually did look apologetic as they pulled into traffic, "but I don't have that kind of authority." She kept an eye out for the usual bad drivers any major city had as she said, "Guns are... well, they're a lot rarer in Japan."

"Don't I know it," Red muttered.

Wolf looked at her lover in amusement. She leaned forward to ask Akira, "Can you take us to the latest incident site?"

Akira's hands flexed on the wheel, "There was another yesterday. The Chief asked the forensics team to do the minimum disturbing of the site, too."

"Good," Red nodded as she looked questioningly at Wolf.

"Very good," Wolf agreed, "if there's any traces left, I might be able to do something."

As they drove through the city, once again both women were struck by how busy and crowded Tokyo was. The streets and sidewalks teemed with life, men and women rushing back and forth to accomplish their daily tasks. And as they did, things walked along with them, intent on feeding on the lives that surrounded them.

The apartment building was a new shining tower, like many on the island. It had a almost antiseptic smell as they went through the front entrance and to the elevators. "The building has full security," Akira noted as they took the elevator up, "cameras didn't see anything going in or out."

"Not too unusual," Red noted, fishing in her shoulder bag. She removed a ugly, roughly made knife, one that was as long as her forearm and was carved with some kind of primitive writing, then carefully put it back.

Akira looked at Red in alarm, "How did you get that through customs?"

"It's officially a historical item, not a weapon," Wolf said as they reached the floor they wanted and got out.

Red stopped Akira, letting Wolf get out first. The brown haired woman sniffed the air, then with a determined step headed off down the hall. "Should I...?" Akira asked.

"Let her go," Red advised.

Wolf lead them around the corner, right to where the room was still blocked off by police tape. She ripped it down and stalked inside, slowly advancing as she swept the room with her eyes. Every now and then she would stop and sniff at something on the carpet, a frown on her face.

"What the hell...?" Wolf muttered.

Red stayed back as she asked, "What you got?"

"Dunno," Wolf admitted as she sat back on her haunches, "but it smells horrible. It's clearly not human, and I think there might be a trail."

Red brightened slightly, then frowned herself. "Can we wait until our weapons get out of hock?" she demanded.

"With how much traffic this city gets?" Wolf asked, "I'm going to be lucky to follow it the whole way now."

"Crap," Red growled. Making a instant decision she said, "Then we follow it as far as we can."

Akira and Red followed Wolf back to the elevator, then down to the first floor. Stopping to sniff at the air Wolf lead them outside, then down the street. They dodged traffic and pedestrians as they followed the rapidly fading trail, eventually reaching one of the small parks in the city.

"Is this...?" Akira asked warily.

"It's here, whatever the hell it is," Wolf said bluntly, "There's multiple scent trails converging here, actually."

"It's coming back here regularly," Red realized.

There were some trees, grass, and a odd feeling of peace as they advanced into the park. The breeze seemed to carry sweet scents, and the air was warm and comfortable. It almost felt like something was trying to forcefully soothe them.

"You feel that?" Wolf growled.

"They're definitely something here," Red agreed. She was about to say something to Akira when she was the woman's blissed out expression. The other woman began to stumble forward like a sleep walker, entranced.

"Follow her?" Wolf asked softly.

"Fuck yeah," Red agreed as they moved along, hanging back a bit.

Somehow despite the small size of the park they went through a band of trees and over a hill, finding a secluded glade. A group of men and women were gathered in a circle, and in the middle of the ring the beautiful woman sang to them. She floated a bit above the ground as she and, soap bubble like lights and sparkles dancing around her.

"It looks like Sailor Moon," Red blinked.

"I would have gone with Cardcaptor Sakura, but pretty much," Wolf agreed, "but it ain't what it seems. The scent I picked up in the apartment? This thing REEKS of it."

The circle of entranced people reached out and drew Akira in. The officer seemed fully under the spell, looking up at the seeming Magical Girl with dreamy adoration. She reached out to Akira, offering her hand, and Akira stumbled forward.

"Crap," Red growled. "Looks like she's about to get whatever killed those other people..."

"We have no weapons, remember?" Wolf pointed out even as she readied herself to run.

"Burst through 'em and grab the magic chick," Red said flatly, "other than that we'll just have to improvise."

"Right," and with that Wolf and Red burst from cover and charged.

Thankfully the entranced men and women were dazed, unable to react fast enough as Wolf tossed them aside with frightening ease. Red raced forward as the Magical Girl was bending to kiss Akira, something... wiggling between her lips, eager to reach the police officer. Red closed the distance, shoving Akira aside as she took her knife and slashed it right across the thing's throat.

The Magical Girl's head had a surprised look as it sailed away, even as it's body suddenly transformed. Illusions gone it began a tentacled mass, with razor sharp claws that flailed about wildly. The formerly entranced men and women screamed in shock and horror as they scrambled away. Red tacked Akira to the side, barely dodging the razor tentacles, even as Wolf raced in to wrestle with it.

Grabbing two tentacles Wolf ripped them free, even as it's struggles slowed. Working to contain the creature it tried to slither away, then went limp as it rapidly began to decompose. Even as it did several of it's victims began to throw up, small, lizard like creatures that wriggled a bit, then died too.

"What the hell?" Akira said weakly, taking in the traumatized people, dead hideous creature and piles of vomit.

"Just another day in our lives," Wolf said wryly as she made sure Red was fine.

It didn't take long to figure out what had been happening. Apparently whatever the critter in the park was, it needed to breed. It seemed to be implanting it's babies in people, but we weren't hardy enough to survive the baby growths. Eventually they would burst out, killing the host and soon up and dying after.

"Unless there's baby critters running around," Red noted.

"God I hope not," Akira sighed, having been too damn close to one of the critters already.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters

Four

Akira Tobina was half western, half Japanese, which had made life rather hard for the young woman. Yes Japan had advanced a lot of the years, yes there was much less prejudice against 'gaijin' as they called westerners, but it still had a impact. She had struggled both in school and later as a police officer, trying to be recognized for her skills rather than her appearance.

Therefore when she got the assignment to assist the monster hunters, she had thought it was a punishment of some sort. The two women were brash and crude, and she had thought her superiors were joking about them being 'experts.' She, however, had been wrong.

Wolf, the tall, strange one, had somehow instantly caught the trail of the killer. She and Red, with no concern for their own safety, had confronted the... creature, after it entranced Akira. Attacking before it could violate her the two adventurers had killed it, and clearly had saved Akira's life.

IN the aftermath they got the surviving victims together, called the doctors and did their best to keep everyone from freaking out too much. Akira handled most of it and was glad, as it gave her something to keep her mind off what nearly happened. That monster had nearly put one of it's spawn into her... she could have died.

"Think they'll recover?" Red asked dryly as the attractive woman in now blood splattered tank top and shorts asked.

"I'd think so," Wolf said as the tall, rangy young woman used a towel to get the crap off her arms, "they're just in shock. Give it some time and they'll probably forget it ever happened."

"Really?" Akira asked a bit disbelievingly.

"You ever wonder why no one ever believes stuff like today happens?" Red asked wryly. "There's something in the human brain that just... kind of papers it over. It becomes a dream, or some half memory and you just forget."

Akira puffed out a breath as she muttered, "I hope so." She really did not want to retain the memory of that beautiful... THING about to violate her mouth with one of it's spawn.

"Come on, let's check with your bosses," Red said cheerfully, "I wanna know when we get paid for this."

Akira was less than pleased with the woman's greed, but she WAS a mercenary. They retrieved her car and headed downtown, weaving through traffic as they went to her department headquarters. The modern police headquarters was reserved for the regular officers... they went to a older building, formerly a local police department office, where the more unusual police squads were based.

"Still operating outta unit 13?" Wolf asked curiously as they went inside the whitewashed and very clean building.

"Officially it's room 12-a," Akira admitted wryly as they took the stairs up to the second floor. She lead the way up the hall past rooms eleven and twelve, then knocked on the next one.

"Come in," a slightly gravelly voice answered.

Akira opened the door and waved the two women in, then followed them inside. Chief Inspector Shiro Azuma smiled as he got up, shaking hands with both westerners heartily. She was rather surprised at the warm welcome, though she had remembered that he had worked with them before.

"Chief, huh?" Wolf noted cheerfully, "You get a raise too?"

"Some," Shiro said cheerfully, "not as much as I deserve for this job, but such is life."

"Tell me about it," Red agreed.

He waved them to the chairs in front of his desk as Shiro said, "I heard Akira's report, but I'd like to hear it in your own words."

"Yeah, well," Red flopped down in one of the office chairs and told the tale, with Wolf jumping in to offer commentary and clarifications.

"I think we got the critter responsible for the killings," Wolf said with a shrug.

"Very likely," Shiro agreed as he leaned forward. "I can provide your payment for the mission," he said, "but could I ask you to stay in the city a short while?"

"Why?" Red asked curiously.

"It appears the thing was attempting to create spawn of some sort," Shiro said, "I'd like to keep you around for a bit until we know for certain none of it's children survived."

"Makes sense," Wolf conceded with a grunt, "but we didn't exactly plan on a extended stay..."

Shiro gave them a wry look. "I can provide accommodation, at least for a few days," he said, "I know how much you hate paying for hotels."

"What can I say, I'm cheap," Red shrugged eloquently.

Akira bit back a chuckle. "I have a spare room if you need it, sir," she offered loyally.

"Worried I'll put them up in my spare room?" Shiro asked his minion impishly.

"I suspect your wife would object," Akira teased back.

"Actually Hitomi knows both of them from their last visit," Shiro chuckled.

"Hitomi finally bagged you?" Wolf grinned, "Congratulations."

"Finally?" Shiro raised a eyebrow.

"Hey, she was chasing you all the time on our last visit," Red noted mildly. "But we'll take a spare room or a decent hotel, whichever," she said.

"Hotel," Shiro decided, "I wouldn't want to corrupt poor Akira with the sound of you two frolicking at night." He looked amused, "She's far too innocent for you two."

Akira opened her mouth to protest, but wasn't quite sure what to say. Frolicking? Was he implying that they...? She shook herself, not sure she really wanted to know.

"Okay, we'll stick around a few days," Wolf agreed, "and you'll cover any expenses?"

"Reasonable expenses," Shiro said as they got ready to go, "I am not paying for one of your drinking binges, thanks. My budget wouldn't take it."

"Spoil sport," Red laughed. "See if you can clear some time off work," she added, "let us catch up with you and the missus."

"I'll do my best," he said, then asked Akira to stay a moment.

"Yes, sir?" Akira asked respectfully.

"Escort them to their hotel," Shiro said then hesitated, "And could you stick around with them for a bit?" As she looked at him questioningly he continued, "The two of them are my friends, but... I rather dread the kind of trouble they can get into."

'Babysitting duty,' Akira thought, 'great.' Aloud she said, "Of course sir. Can I get changed before...?"

"Thank you, and yes," Shiro nodded, relieved. "I know I'm asking a lot, and I am very greatful," he added.

Akira excused herself and swiftly changed out of her uniform and into some street clothes, then headed out front to meet the two women. "The Chief asked me to take you to your hotel," she said briskly, "do you want to take my car?"

"I'd appreciate it," Red admitted, "it's been awhile since we've been in town."

"The Okami attacks two years back," Wolf noted mildly as they walked to the young woman's car in the parking spaces beside the building, "hated fighting relatives, but what do ya do?"

'Wolf gods,' Akira thought, then blinked. 'Does she seriously think she's a...?'

Wolf got in the back seat, stretching out to relax while Red took shotgun. "Thanks," Red said as they started out. "Hey, do you know any good nightclubs? It's kinda fun to unwind after a case..."

"There's a few places I could show you, if you like," Akira answered, smiling.

"Good," Wolf noted, "that way you can keep an eye on us like Shiro asked."

"Huh...," Akira started.

"Yes, we left," Red smiled slyly as Akira blushed, "but Wolf has good ears."

They dropped off the couples bags at the hotel, a foreigner's one in the middle of downtown. The prices were enough to make Akira pale, but both women seemed to take it in stride. They changed to clean clothes, a short dress for Red and slacks and a white shirt for Wolf, then they followed Akira into the evening light.

"So what sort of places do you like?" Akira asked curiously as they made their way down a busy Tokyo street.

"Someplace to drink first," Red said as she held onto Wolf's arm, the taller woman intimidating the men and women packing the sidewalk, "then maybe some dancing?"

"Quiet to start out with," Wolf added.

"Hmm," Akira hesitated then asked. "Uhm, would you object to a same sex bar? I go to one pretty regularly."

"Sure!" Red agreed enthusiastically.

They ended up heading to Roppongi by train rather than car, for safety. And honestly Akira didn't trust her driving after a few drinks. Catherine's was a smaller club not far from a Yakuza owned bar and a Nigerian run cabaret, but it kept it's share of the market by only serving women and providing quality service. It was in a small building but was two floors, with the bar on the first floor and a stage upstairs for a singer or other acts.

Catherine herself was a older woman with grey in her hair and a twinkle of amusement in her eye. "Akira, nice to see you again," she smiled, then looked over the westerners curiously.

"This is...," Akira hesitated at using the nicknames but carried on, "Wolf and Red. They're visiting the city a few days and I offered to show them around."

"Nice to meet you," Catherine bowed a bit, smiling. She looked at Akira, "You should know I saw Yuki upstairs."

"Ah," Akira made a face. "Well, it wasn't unexpected. Is she here with the new girlfriend?"

"I didn't see her but...," Catherine shrugged eloquently. She beamed at the three of them, "So, what can we get you to drink?"

All three ordered then Akira led them to a downstairs table overlooking the street. "Ex-girlfriend?" Red asked curiously.

"Red," Wolf scolded, "that's a bit personal for someone we met today."

Akira thought about denying it, but didn't see much point. "Yeah," she sipped her drink, "but we broke up after she ended up sleeping with someone else."

"Ouch," Red winced and patted her shoulder. Coincidentally she was facing the window, and stopped patting as she saw outside. "Oh crap. Is someone pulling a zombie walk event, or something?"

Wolf and Akira both looked up to see the street filled with shuffling figures headed right to the bar. "Oh crap," Akira managed right before someone pitched a trash can right through the window...

To be continued!


	5. Chapter 5

Wolf And Red

From Soldier of the Fantastic, Issue #130

_Japan, under the surface of conformity and politeness, is a deeply, deeply strange place, and if you take a job there you need to be prepared. Not only is it culturally weird (visit 4chan, as a primer, but be prepared to be offended) but Japan is home to hundreds of local supernatural species that can't be found anywhere else._

_Worse, you will have extreme difficulty in bringing weapons into the country. They are extremely reluctant to allow mercs to bring in weapons, and you will need a local with political clout to do so. Even taking that into account, you may go days or even weeks weaponless._

"Incoming!" Wolf yelped as she grabbed Red and ducked as a trash can crashed through the night club window.

Red looked around wildly, cursing the lack of weapons. She picked up a annoyingly flimsy chair, scowling as the shambling people started climbing in.

"No, you don't want to hurt them!" Akira Tobina yelled, the police officer having invited them out with her. Sadly, she hadn't expected this, which just meant she didn't know Wolf and Red that wellk yet. Disaster followed them like a puppy.

"Are you nuts?" Red demanded but didn't clout the first one through the hole.

"They're people, not monsters. We can't hurt them." Akira said firmly.

Wolf sniffed the air, then looked at the zombie-like people. "She's right," she told Red, "I think they're possessed or something." She sniffed again, "They kinda smell of the alien thing we killed earlier."

"It's kids?" Red asked as she fended one off with the table.

"Oh god," the young cop whimpered. She had nearly become a host to one of the critter's spawn, and clearly had some issues.

"Probably," Wolf agreed as she punched a man in the face. Surprisingly it barely fased him. As more people lurched inside she demanded, "Got a plan?"

"Get the screaming civies out then run," Red decided succinctly.

"Good plan," Wolf agreed.

Akira was fighting to keep it together, but Red's comment about screaming civilians snapped her out of her panic. The crowd of women in the bar was panicking, and at least that was something the off duty cop could do something about.

"Everyone to the back doors," Akira yelled, waving the women towards the kitchen. HOPEFULLY they weren't blocked, or they were in more trouble. Then once they were outside she'd try her cellphone and call out the cops.

"What the HELL is going on?" Catherine demanded, the host of the bar having forced her way through the frightened mob

"Mind controlled zombies, pretty much," Red answered as she kept using a chair to fend the attackers off.

"I've heard of crazier," Catherine conceded as she picked up a stool and used it like a lion tamer keeping a pissed off cat at bay.

From Soldier of the Fantastic, Issue #130

_The problem with fighting anyone under mind control or possession is, it's very hard to determine how much force to use. A blow that might render a normal person unconscious can be ignored. Similarly blows that should generate crippling levels of pain seem to be shrugged off._

_Similarly it is complicated using lethal tactics. While it may seem expedient to simply kill the mind controlled subject, in a urban environment you might find yourself charged with a homicide. (Outside of a urban setting the circumstances may be different. Use your own judgment.) But normally, lethal force is not advised._

_If someone is being controlled and you have to stop them, the only alternative may be crippling them. Despite the person ignoring pain, a broken leg WILL slow them down, and a properly delivered strike will do minimal damage._

The lumbering men and women pressed forward, trying to get through the doors and broken windows. Thankfully they were clumsy, getting in each others way, and there was a limited area they could move through. But they advanced steadily, over a dozen trying to cram inside.

"Looks like we gotta do," Red sighed as she stepped close to one, then hammered the man's leg. There was a wet crack, then he went down as she stepped backwards.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Akira yelped.

"I just broke his leg, chill," Red shot back.

"Is everyone out of the building?" Catherine demanded. A shrill scream came from upstairs. "Guess not?" she sighed. She looked at Akira, "Check upstairs, get anyone there out of here."

"But...," Akira sounded torn.

"Do it!" Catherine barked and the girl hurried off.

"Nice," Wolf noted admiringly as they punched and kicked, breaking limbs and slowing the advance of their attackers.

"She'd keep arguing with you," Catherine said flatly as they backed towards the kitchen. "This IS the only way to slow them down, correct?" she asked grimly.

"Short of actually killing them," Red shrugged as they reached the stairway and held their ground.

A few moments later and Akira hurried down the stairs, carrying a unconscious woman over her shoulders in a fireman's carry, several more women following behind her.

"Is that Yuki?" Catherine blinked, recognizing Akira's former date.

"She was hysterical," Akira said flatly as they rushed for the rear exit.

"Bet she enjoyed cold cocking her," Catherine muttered low enough so the younger woman couldn't hear.

Wolf chuckled softly. "Come on, let's go," she ordered, everyone heading out of the building as fast as they could.

They hit the street, thankful that there seemed no mind controlled people out there. They rushed away from the building as they heard crashing and violence, hurrying up the street. "Could someone grab her?" Akira asked, grunting tiredly under the out cold woman.

"Right," Red got her off Akira's shoulders then unceremoniously dumped the woman right on the ground.

Akira looked like she wanted to protest, then decided against it. Instead she dialed her cellphone, trying the police line. Her expression was oddly blank as she listened.

"Bad?" Wolf had to ask.

"The switchboard is completely overwhelmed," Akira revealed grimly, "I'm not even getting the usual automated message."

"Which means?" Red had to ask.

"Things are very very bad," Akira answered. She hit a switch and changed calls, "Going to try the boss' personal line."

"Shiro better answer," Wolf muttered softly.

Chief Inspector Shiro Azuma answered after a moment, his voice clearly strained. "What?" he snapped, surprisingly. He NEVER snapped, at least as far as Akira knew.

Akira answered calmly, "Officer Akira Tobina here, sir. I need to report a incident."

"Oh, god, Akira," Shiro breathed out, "you're all right."

Akira looked at the phone in disbelief, even as Red reached out and bodily snatched the phone out of her hand. "Shiro!" Red barked, "What the hell is going on?"

"Trouble," Shiro said honestly, "there are what looks like zombie mobs attacking people all over Tokyo and the surrounding region."

"Fuck," Wolf breathed out.

Akira snatched the phone back, "Sir, we've also had a attack." She gave the address then added, "Do we know if the attacks have anything in common?"

"Not that we've determined," Shiro admitted. "They're scattered around, and we're scrambling to try to cover everything."

Catherine put her hands on her hips as her customers milled around worriedly. "I'm sure this is all fascinating," she noted, "but can we expect some help soon? I think they're DESTROYING MY CLUB."

There was a beat of silence then Shiro said apologetically as he said, "I'm sorry, we're stretched very very thin. I can tell you where the nearest police defense line is."

Catherine's mouth opened and she was going to say something rude, then Wolf just shook her head. "Where?" Red demanded grimly.

"Oh hell." Wolf listened, her expression grim. "We have to run to the station, pretty much?" she asked thoughtfully.

"They're leaving what's left of the club," one of the women called worriedly as the almost zombie like people began to spill out of the back of the club.

"Son of a bitch," Catherine cursed softly.

"We'd better move," Red decided, "Shiro, can we stay in touch?"

"I can't stay in touch," Shiro said, "I'm juggling a lot right now. Call me back once you reach the defense line, please. I want to know you're safe."

"Yeah, yeah," Red handed the phone back to Akira. She turned to the other escapees from the club, "Okay, folks, we are heading to reach the cops. We are not waiting for you, so you had better damn well keep up."

"You're not helping us?" Yuki demanded.

"I don't even like you," Red shot back. She looked at Wolf, "Let's get out of here before these things catch up with us."

"Right," Wolf agreed, looking at Akira with a crisp nod.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters

Catherine bit back a anguished groan as they abandoned her night club and hurried up the road. The streets were eerily deserted this time of night, the normal crowds seemingly disappeared. The survivors of the attack fell in behind the westerners, hurrying up the road.

"Would someone PLEASE tell me what's going on?" Catherine demanded as they jogged up the street. "I mean, other than Mind Controlled Zombies."

Akira sighed, the attractive young cop hurrying beside her. "There was a alien critter that was putting it's spawn into people and killing them," she explained, "we thought we killed it."

"So they're being controlled by alien parasites," Catherine said very flatly.

"Pretty much," Red agreed as she hurried along beside her.

Before any other comments, another group of possessed errupted from a side alley. "Shit!" Yuki yelped before being dogpiled on.

"Aw crap," Red sighed as she kicked one in the face.

"We have to rescue her!" another woman cried.

"Really? Why?" Wolf asked mildly, punching another possessed.

"I keep forgetting you two are mercenaries," Akira muttered as she and Catherine waded into the zombies to try to rescue her ex.

"You know, Shiro WOULD get upset if we let her get whacked," Red noted as most of the bar survivors watched.

Wolf sighed dramatically. "You just like her," she complained. "Aw, fuck."

Catherine struggled with one of the infected, then 'eeped' as the man was casually yanked right off her. Wolf calmly flung the man aside, even as she and Red waded into the fight. The four women quickly got the rest off Yuki, who was sobbing in fear and relief.

"Oh thank you, thank you," Yuki wept weakly.

"Yeah, yeah," Red grumbled, "We gotta MOVE people. There are probably more of those things coming."

"You could be a BIT more gentle," Akira sighed.

"I'm not PAID enough to be gentle," Red shot back then added bitterly, "fuck, I'm not being paid for this at all."

"Come on, let's go," Wolf sighed as Akira helped a sobbing Yuki up and everyone hurried off down the street.

Catherine shook her head, wondering what, exactly, was going on with Akira's friends. That, and if she'd ever live through all this craziness.

They reached the police line not long after, which was yet another surreal sight. The police had discovered that tasers could disable the possessed, and even better the electricity forced the creatures out of the hosts. So they would taser a man, watch the critter escape from the mouth then smash it with a mallet before scooping it up and dropping it in a barrel, just in case.

"Well, that's kinda cool," Red noted. "I hadn't thought of that."

The survivors of the club attack were huddled together behind the defensive line, getting warm drinks and trying to recover a bit. Now that the initial rush had worn off, several of the women had just collapsed, and were being cared for by police.

"I don't understand why some people just fall apart when this sort of thing happens," Catherine noted as she sipped a hot cup of soup.

"It's not all THAT unusual," Akira noted calmly, "some people just don't cope well with this sort of thing."

"Thank you for the rescue, by the way," Catherine smiled at the younger woman, "Things were so hectic I kind of forgot to say that."

Akira smiled and shrugged, "We were being attacked too, so..."

"Don't downplay your heroism," Catherine put her hand on the younger woman's arm and squeezed gently.

"Heh," Akira blushed.

Red looked on with amusement as she muttered to Wolf, "She's TOTALLY hitting on Akira."

"I think it's cute," Wolf shrugged. She looked at Red, "Any luck getting Shiro on the phone?"

"The cops can't get a hold of him, switchboard is still jammed," Red shrugged, "and my phone's out of power."

"We haven't really had a chance to charge the thing," Wolf admitted. "Do we ask Akira?"

"I want something to eat first," Red decided, the two heading over to where they were serving soup. As they each got a cup she asked, "How bad are things?"

"Confusing," the young man shrugged. "I think we're starting to get ahead of things, now that we know tasering works..."

"Thankfully," a woman cop grinned, "it was getting scary for a while there."

"But yeah, the police are getting ahead of it, finally," the man concluded.

Collecting their soups Wolf and Red moved off. "I'd take that more seriously if we hadn't seen so many infected getting here," Red noted flatly.

"Damn right," Wolf agreed flatly.

Catherine leaned forward as she continued, "You know, I..."

Akira's phone rang, making both women jerk apart. "Sorry, I have to get this," Akira apologized as she thumbed her phone.

"Right," Catherine growled out. She was about to confess her long time interest in the younger woman! DAMN modern technology!

"Yes?" Akira answered then smiled, "Good to hear from you, sir. Yes. Yes. We're fine so far, sir." She paused then looked around, "Hey, Red! The Captain wants to talk to you."

Red sauntered over and took the phone, "Yo, Shiro. You're still alive?"

Akira winced visibly. "She's SO disrespectful," she muttered.

Catherine had to laugh. "She's western," she pointed out, "and it seems he doesn't mind. They're good friends?"

"They've worked cases together," Akira shrugged helplessly "tho it's strange. I would have thought, from what he told me, they would be thirty, even fourty years old. But they look like they're in their twenties."

"Huh," Catherine looked at Red thoughtfully. Couldn't be much more than twenty. If that. "Good genes?" she wondered.

"Heh," Akira smiled. She looked at Catherine, "What were you going to say, before I got that call?"

Catherine froze, then took a steadying breath. "We've known each other a long time," she admitted, "and there is something I've never told you. But after today, after how close we've all come to dying, I don't want to waste any more time."

"Yes?" Akira asked.

"I think I love you," Catherine admitted.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The squeal of joy made Red turn, watching Akira hug Catherine, in fact nearly knocking the older woman over. "What was that?" Shiro demanded over the phone.

"I think your minion just got asked out. Or possibly engaged," Red noted with a grin.

Shiro just laughed. "Don't tell me, I shouldn't officially know," he said. "So, can I ask you to do this for me?" he asked.

"You're going to have to pay extra," Red warned him.

"Yeah, yeah," Shiro agreed.

"We'll need a van, maybe a armored one, and some weapons," Red added, "I think this is going to get messy."

"Riot and stun gear is the best I can do," Shiro answered.

"It'll have to do. Can we keep Akira as a driver?" Red asked.

Shiro sighed. "Yes, yes... please. Do this for me, and please don't get me in deep trouble?" he asked plaintively.

"No promises," Red grinned. She move the phone away as she yelled, "Hey, Akira! Your boss needs to talk to you!"

The young officer trotted over as she asked, "More craziness?"

"Pretty much," Red handed her the phone.

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Wolf And Red: Monster Hunters

Seven

Akira watched in a certain degree of horror as Red graphically threatened a politician with a huge knife.

"I do not GIVE a rat's ass about your dog," Red said flatly as they nearly chucked him into the police van, "now get in there, or we'll leave you to the zombies."

"You wouldn't dare," an older woman sputtered.

"I REALLY wouldn't suggest trying that," Akira said quickly, having seen the women be ruthless when needed.

Thankfully no one else argued with them and they got the folks inside. "Well, that was fun," Wolf grinned at Akira.

"No. No, it wasn't," Akira said as they headed off from the residence.

Shiro had called them in to rescue a group of politicians trapped by the zombies. In theory it should have been simple, but they lacked heavy weapons or enough people. So Wolf and Red had deliberately led the attacking zombies off, then returned to help Akira with the evacuation.

"They TOTALLY could have called the cops in for this," Red complained fairly mildly as she and Wolf rode up front. She was pretty much perched in Wolf's lap, which was unsafe, but better than being in back with the VIPs.

"The police are overwhelmed," Akira was too tired to argue, so she just said it.

"Besides, more money for us," Wolf added with a shrug.

"Yeah," Red conceded tiredly.

Wolf looked over at Akira and asked, "Can you call up Shiro? I wanna know if things are settling down. Not to mention if he still wants our cargo at police headquarters."

"Right," Akira dialed his private number. Any attempt to get through via the police switchboard was doomed to fail, at this point.

"Yes?" Shiro snapped over the line. He sounded harried and tired, neither of which were that surprising, but were unusual reactions for the normally steady officer.

"Sir, we've got the politicians safe," Akira reported.

Shiro sighed quietly in relief. "Thank goodness. Were things as difficult as you expected?" he asked them.

"Not so bad," Akira admitted. "These things appear to be dumb, if aggressive."

"The zombies too," Red teased.

Shiro snorted softly.

Akira prayed no one in back had heard that crack. "Where do we bring our passengers, sir?" she asked respectfully.

"Police headquarters," Shiro said promptly, "we've got an area we've cleared there."

"How's the situation in the city?" Wolf had to ask.

"Chaotic, but we're getting a handle on it. I'll fill you in once you get here," Shiro said a bit distractedly. Obviously something else had come up.

"We'll be there soon," Akira said before he hung up.

Red sighed softly as she leaned tiredly against Wolf. "Wanna bet he has more jobs for us once we get there?" she mused aloud.

"Yeah, that's pretty certain," Wolf agreed.

The streets were an odd mix of people carrying on as usual, and the occassional zombie mob chasing folks. Mixed with police blockades checking folks over and using tasers on the apparently possessed. And sometimes nailing stoners and druggies instead.

"Why the hell aren't people staying in doors?" Red demanded.

"Because no one believes the news reports and announcements?" Wolf shrugged. "You have to admit, no matter how the pitch it it'd be a hard sell."

"True," Akira conceded.

They made it back to the police headquarters, where things were chaotic. There were police and Japan Self Defense Force troops running around, civilians, politicians and so on. And no feeling of anyone really in charge.

"All right, everyone out," Red briskly ordered as she opened the back doors and let the four VIPS out.

The three older men and women were quite grumbly about their treatment, and quickly stalked off. The younger man, however, gave them a apologetic nod and said, "Thank you very much. I'm not sure what would have happened, if you hadn't come for us."

Akira bowed slightly, "We were honored to help, sir."

Red was tempted to add a comment about remembering this when payment time rolled around, but decided to hold back. Wolf ambled up beside her, then said, "Okay, let's go check in with Shiro, then Akira can go look for Catherine in this mob..."

Akira blushed pinkly, but didn't deny she'd be doing that. "Right," she agreed and they headed off together.

A older woman was leaning over helping Shiro sort paperwork, put she put down the files with a thump as she saw them. "Wolf! Red! You scoundrels, you're still alive?" the black haired woman laughed.

"Hey Hitomi," Red grinned back as the woman rushed in and hugged them, one at a time.

"Don't 'hey' me!" Hitomi hit Red on the shoulder. "You don't write! Or call!"

"Do I have to pick you up?" Wolf mock threatened the smaller woman. "I can DO that. And you know it."

Hitomi just laughed.

Akira looked vaguely petrified as she watched them interact.

Shiro took pity on her as he pointed out, "I TOLD you my wife knew them."

"Right sorry," Akira recovered.

"Hitomi came in to help deal with all the paperwork and such," Shiro told them once they grabbed chairs and sat, "things are rather more chaotic than usual."

"You can say that again," Hitomi agreed.

Shiro smiled at her then looked back at the others. "The over-all situation is pretty crazy, but we do seem to be getting a handle on it," he told them.

"So it IS the spawn of the critter we killed, right?" Red asked. "I thought those things were killing people..."

Hitomi made a face. "We have a theory. It's rather gross tho," she noted.

"Hit me," Wolf said wryly.

"Three stage life form. The 'momma' critter implants a baby in a host. It gets to a certain point of growth, then errupts. It splits, infesting two new hosts and so on."

"Aliens, much?" Wolf gagged.

"Or Slither. Closer to that film," Red noted. "What about the weird momma critter? How does that factor in?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Shiro admitted. "The 'baby' critters congregate, and after a while start acting like your typical zombie mob. The good news being we've found tasers force the things out of people," he said.

"Whee, fun," Red sighed. "Are we going to be put on taser duty?" she asked.

"You're on retainer," Shiro told them. "Usual rates. I may need you for more extractions, or other jobs. Keep your phones handy, basically..."

"Fair enough," Wolf agreed. "Mind if we grab some chow and some shut eye? It's been a LONG day."

"No problem," Shiro nodded. "Akira, you're off duty too, at least for now. Again, keep your phone handy."

"Thank you sir," Akira saluted.

"I'll catch up with you girls later," Hitomi added as they left.

"Will do," Red agreed.

"We'll grab some beers," Wolf nodded.

They headed down the hall, then took the stairs down. One of the rules of supernatural mercs: bad things can happen in elevators.

"How do you know the chief's wife?" Akira asked curiously.

"We met them on a earlier visit to Japan," Red said cheerilly. "She was a vampire at the time."

It took a second for that to hit. "WHAT." Akira blinked at them.

Wolf looked amused. "You didn't know? Why do you think she stays indoors so much?" she asked cheerfully.

"I hadn't really thought about it," Akira conceded.

"She was cured of the main virus, thankfully, but has some residual effects. Light sensitivity, for one," Red noted

"On the other she'll still look great at a hundred," Wolf noted.

They reached the street as Akira shook her head. "I can't tell if you're joking or not," she said, "I'm going to go find Catherine. Have a nice night."

"Bye," Red waved as she strode off.

"We should ask Hitomi to show her the fangs later," Wolf noted as they ambled off.

"Ha!" Red laughed.

To be continued.

Notes: Yes I KNOW the bit with Hitomi doesn't match Monster Hunters canon on vampires. Just assume it's a weird Japanese type of vamp. Or something.


	8. Chapter 8

Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters!

Homeward bound

The flight back to Canada was long, but at least the service was good. Plus the 'unknown outbreak' in Tokyo had cut down on the tourist trade.

"Do they REALLY think that story will hold up?" Wolf wondered dubiously as she looked over the news reports.

Red shrugged as she said, "Well, no one who was there will believe it, of course. But the public in general..."

"Yeah, point," Wolf conceded.

The logic behind hiding monster sightings and such had always seemed kind of dubious to them both. The basic thought was that the more folks knew about monsters and the supernatural, the more powerful those forces became. Of course, it was hard to judge.

New Orleans, of course, was a special case. EVERYBODY believed, pretty much, and weird shit abounded. But it was hard to say if it was that or other reasons. (The rumored Great Old One under the city was, of course, officially denied.)

Personally, Wolf wasn't sure she bought it.

"Do we have a ride waiting at Vancouver airport? I don't want to try hauling our gear via skytrain," Red asked.

"Mimi will be picking us up. She's been taking care of the place as usual," Wolf reminded her.

"Oh, right," Red murmured.

They were based out of Canada for various reasons, but mostly because the US Monster Control Bureau had no juristiction there. Both women had had run ins with the agency, and neither wanted them going after them again. And don't ask about Special Task Force Unicorn, that creep Stricken and the hit squad he was running using unwilling monsters...

Plus, Canada had somewhat more liberal laws on 'monsters' in general. There were various examinations and a probation period, but if you could prove you could live peacefully around humans, they'd basically leave you alone. And Canada's police got VERY ANNOYED at US Hunters running into Canada chasing bounties.

They hit turbulence and Red cursed. "I can't wait to get home," she muttered.

"Drink? Snacks?" a airline hostess asked as she went down the aisle, completely ignoring the airplane shaking slightly.

"Could I get another beef sandwich?" Wolf asked cheerfully.

"That's FOUR you've had," the slightly scandalized young woman noted.

"It's a long flight," Wolf shrugged.

Red just grinned as the woman scurried off.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Mimi Johnson was waiting at the airport, the attractive black haired woman dressed in matching black skirt and blouse and carrying a sign.

"Fake Monster Hunters knock off?" Red read the sign, shaking her head.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Mimi sassed back cheerfully.

Wolf took the sign and pitched it in the paper recycling bin. "Got the van?" she asked as she pulled the cart with their luggage.

"I did," Mimi blinked at all the stuff, "how much crap did you BUY?"

"Heh," Wolf looked sheepish.

"Thanks for meeting us," Red noted as they pretty much forced their way through the crowds. "Any work related stuff come up?" she asked.

"There's some work mail to go through," Mimi reminded them, knowing they both hated paperwork in general.

"Yeah yeah...," Wolf sighed.

Mimi took pity on them. "There's a bounty on capturing a Sasquatch...," she started.

"Nah," Red cut in. "They're harmless, besides, I do NOT want to piss them off."

"Hmm?" Mimi raised a eyebrow.

"They may be nice, but they can be fierce defending themselves," Wolf noted.

"Ah," Mimi nodded as they reached the van.

The side door slid open, and they began to stack the boxes and luggage in the back. And wall scrolls, a replica katana, a very fancy knife, and gifts from various Japanese politicians, police and others. If they had a fourth person, they'd be out of luck fitting in.

"Ok, get in," Mimi ordered, "I'm driving."

"But..." both Wolf and Red started.

"No," Mimi said firmly, "we don't need more tickets."

"Aww," Wolf pouted, but both women climbed in, sitting on the longer custom front seat, Red in the middle.

"Wendigo infestation up north," Mimi told them as they pulled into traffic, "the standard bounties I think."

"Someone pulled a Donner Party?" Wolf wondered aloud.

"Huh?" Mimi asked.

"Wendigo is a curse that hits when people go cannibal." Wolf explained.

Mimi made a face, "Ewwww."

"Put that on the 'maybe' list," Red noted, "Wendigo are a bitch to fight."

"The city also has the usual pest control jobs available," Mimi added, "undead, critters in the sewers and so on."

Wolf groaned, "Could we at least take a few days off first? Tokyo was nuts."

"I still haven't heard all of that," Mimi suggested.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"I am NEVER watching Sailor Moon again," Mimi shuddered visibly.

"I think it was more Card Captor Sakura based," Wolf noted as they carried the stuff into their house in the suburbs.

"Either way!" Mimi shook her head.

"Don't worry. It, it's spawn and the whole mess is very dead," Red reassured her.

Red ocassionaly wondered what the neighbors thought of the three women living together in the large home near New Westminister. They had purchased it with bounty money, choosing it for location, comfort and nearness to the Vancouver airport. There were mostly older houses around them, and a lot of retirees.

They hauled all their stuff in, and pretty much collapsed as Mimi looked on, amused. "You want me to order in some lunch?" she suggested.

"Yeah. How about that English seafood joint? They're good and filling," Wolf suggested as she fired up the computer in the 'office' the company ran out of in the back of the building.

"Got it," Mimi got on the phone to order.

"We got another mail from Harbinger," Wolf told Red as she read, "He's asking us to sign up with Monster Hunter Int again."

"Oh hell no?" Red answered mildly. "He KNOWS we won't go into US territory as long as that bastard Stricken is running around."

"Supposedly, Stricken's been ousted," Wolf noted. "He went up against Franks and the MCB, and was beaten."

Red came into the office, reading the email over her shoulder. "Right," she said dubiously, "and I have a bridge to sell you."

Both snorted. "Yeah," Wolf agreed, "I'll believe it when I see it."

They reviewed the mail, sorting stuff into 'possible jobs,' 'look into it,' 'kooks,' and 'oh hell no.' A lot of stuff went into 'Oh hell no' especially now that Red had written a few articles with her email made public.

"Did I read that wrong?" Wolf asked, pointing at one letter.

"The nut who wants to hire us as an armed escort to go talk to vampires? They appear to be serious," Red nodded.

"Who's THAT insane?" Wolf wondered.

"A Professor of Anthropology," Red noted, "Doctor Gardeneir..."

To be continued...

Notes: Yeah, adding a few bits to tie into Monster Hunters International.

I'm not sure if the books actually get into Canada much, tho I think John Ringo's novels cover Seattle, Washington and touch on BC. I'm thinking that Canada BROADLY has similar policies to US on 'puff' bounties and keeping the supernatural secret, but they handle the day to day stuff differently.

If it IS stated in the books that it's the same, just assume this is an 'alternate universe' or something.

Anyway, I just finished John Ringo's trilogy, Monster Hunter Memoirs, which I thought was pretty good. Minus the sometimes 'Oh John Ringo No' moments anyway. The liberal mom made me go 'Oh, come on.' So it might get referenced a few times.


	9. Chapter 9

Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters!

Nine

From Soldier of the Fantastic #132

_If you can help it, NEVER meet with a client at your home base. There's no telling what government agency they might be working for, or just providing information to. If a client tries forcefully to be taken to your base, look on them with deep suspicion._

_With certain exceptions, like your client is a supernatural being themselves, always meet in a public space. Even most supernatural beings like werewolves or vampires are reluctant to cause trouble in public, as it would usually bring professional hunters down on them._

Metrotown Center in Burnaby had a huge, crowded food court, which made it ideal for a meet up. Both Wolf and Red hit a 'fake Chinese' vendor, with large servings that would fill them both. They then went to sit by the windows, eating and watching for their contact.

The older fellow hit a burger joint, then walked over to them. "Afternoon, ladies," he nodded politely. The guy was their regular contact with the provincial government, a 'Mr Smith.'

"Afternoon," Red agreed.

"Were you out of town?" Smith asked as he ate some fries, "We tried to contact you, but your assistant said you were unavailable."

"International job. Can't really discuss it," Wolf said as she ate.

"Hmph," Smith grunted. He took out some papers and put them on a clear part of the table, spreading out photos, a map and other documents.

"Huh. Wendigo sightings?" Red noted.

Wendigo were large, humanoid looking beast men that attacked humans both for food and to eat them. Supposedly they were created by a curse, but that was unconfirmed. They were tough and dangerous, if not too bright.

"We haven't got solid confirmation," Smith admitted, "the local cops are all reluctant to tangle with them."

"Understandable," Wolf agreed as he studied the map. "That's also up near where the pipelines are supposed to go in. Related?"

"It might even be protest action. We don't know," Smith admitted.

"What's the contract?" Red asked warily.

"Standard rates on Wendigo kills," Smith answered.

"Oh no no no," Red shook her head. "We're going to have to go up there and investigate. This also might be a total wild goose chase, so..."

Wolf listened to them dicker as she ate.

"So we get a small daily fee, gas money, a hotel or whatever, plus the regular bounties," Red concluded smugly.

"Agreed," Smith sighed. "I will expect regular reports," he added.

"We'll need to organize for the trip, that'll take time," Wolf cautioned him. "Leave in three days?" she suggested.

"That works," Smith agreed as he finished his food. "I'll leave the information we have," he added as he got up and left.

Wolf and Red went back to eating as they looked at the printouts. "The evidence seems pretty thin. You think it's a wild goose chase?" Red asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. Well, at the worst you've gotten us a few days of paid vacation up north," Wolf noted.

"Ha. Yeah," Red smiled thoughtfully. "Bring the cross-country skis... we can use them for fun or work," she grinned.

"Ha," Wolf smiled. She looked thoughtful, "Bring the heavy hunting rifles?"

"If it IS wendigo we'll need the stopping power," Red agreed.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"You two are taking off AGAIN?" Mimi Johnson demanded as they started to organize the supplies for the trip.

"Just a day or so up north," Red reassured her.

"Hmph," Mimi pouted. The shorter black haired woman was studying the equipment list thoughtfully. "We're taking the van? Better pack a tent too," she mused.

"They're paying our hotels," Red said smugly.

"Do we know hotels are available?" Mimi pointed out.

That wiped the smile off Red's face, "Well, shit."

"We?" Wolf asked her.

"Well, it's not like either of you can drive," Mimi pointed out reasonably.

Both Red and Wolf winced. Both had enough traffic tickets that their licences had been suspended in BC. Not that that would stop them in an emergency, of course, but this wasn't an actual emergency.

"And it's not like we'd hire a driver," Mimi added impishly, knowing that Red, at least, liked to save money too.

"Okay, okay," Wolf conceded, "but THIS TIME stay out of trouble."

"Trouble? Me?" Mimi batted her eyes.

"I still remember when you set fire to a Vampire nest with us still in it," Red muttered.

"It worked, didn't it?" Mimi shrugged.

Both women rolled their eyes.

(Mimi had been a Hunter in the US for several years. Reasonably successful too. She had planned to retire to Canada, but found giving up the work was too boring. When Wolf and Red had run an ad looking for an assistant, she applied.)

"So tents... we should pack some food too, just in case. We're chasing wendigo, right?" Mimi clarified as they sorted gear in the shed behind the house.

"Yep. Was thinking heavy rifles... and shotguns, to slow them down," Wold noted.

"Or you could just rip their heads off," Mimi teased.

"Even I'm not THAT strong," Wolf noted.

From Soldier of the Fantastic #132

_Light armor and you: a short guide._

_I've seen a lot of rookie Hunters armor up, wearing full uniforms, bullet proof vests, ballistic armor and so on. And, I should note, under specific circumstances that can be a good idea. But you have to assess what you're fighting and what level of armor is helpful._

_For instance: against a elder vampire armor is effectively useless and, basically, just slows you down. Also if you've hit the point where you're engaging a vampire at close range, you're fucked anyway._

_Generally speaking any armor should balance movement and protection._

"We really shouldn't be going out on the town before a job," Wolf pointed out reasonably as they walked down Granville Street in Vancouver together.

"Oh come on! We're just getting dinner and a show," Red laughed.

"Yeah, yeah...," the taller Wolf noted, looking around warily.

"And no, we're not going to get jumped by zombies again," Red added.

"Oh SURE...," Wolf shook her head.

Mimi had taken off earlier. Both suspected she had a boyfriend, but as long as it didn't impact on their work, neither really cared.

"Oooh, poutine! Let's go there!" Red pointed.

Wolf laughed. "You're lucky we're both nearly unkillable," she noted, "or eating that regularly would probably kill us."

One got curry poutine, the other nacho, along with a drink. Finishing they were nicely full, then headed out to the street again.

"YOU," a furious voice demanded.

"Oh hi," Red waved casually to the shorter man.

"Don't 'oh hi' me," the scruffy looking hunter growled. "You two KNOW my team is the official one for Vancouver! You're swiping our jobs!"

"Bishop, Smith came to US. Not our fault," Wolf pointed out.

John Bishop scowled at them. Bishop's Butchers were a six man hunter team based out of Vancouver. The problem was, they just weren't that good at the job. Both women suspected that, eventually, they were going to hit something REALLY nasty and get wiped out.

"You didn't have to take the job," Bishop spat out.

Red couldn't help laughing, "Do you think we're stupid or something?"

Bishop went red and looked ready to lunge at them.

"You REALLY do not want to do that," Wolf warned him.

Bishop hesitated a moment. There were stories about Wolf... she was crazy tough, maybe a werewolf, and supposedly could rip a guy's head clean off. Not to mention the stories about RED.

"This isn't over," Bishop finally growled then stomped away.

"Sore loser," Red sighed once he was gone.

"We ARE taking most of the good jobs now," Wolf noted as they walked on.

"That's because they fucked up that giant spider case and had to use high explosives," Red noted, "took out a whole town. No wonder no one wants to hire them."

To be continued...

Notes: My original idea for Mimi was she was a monster victim, who was hanging with our heroes for safety. But it occurred to me it might be funner if she was a former hunter who quit, got bored, and went back to work.


	10. Chapter 10

Wolf and Red: Monster Hunters!

Ten

“Well, fuck,” Mimi Johnson muttered as they saw the armed men charge.

“Fuck,” Red agreed, calmly taking aim, shooting her rifle and making one man’s leg explode in blood and gore.

“Don’t shoot to kill,” Wolf added as she fired a pistol in each hand, “we don’t know if they’re army or whatever!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mimi muttered.

The group had driven up north in BC, eventually hitting the region near where the Wendigo attacks were reported. And of course, there were no hotels nearby.

Well, there was a ‘room to let’ with a local yokel. All three women took one look at the shack and went ‘Nah.’

So they pitched the tents in a clearing not that far from the woods and made camp. They cooked dinner, ate, then set up security around the camp. In addition to a fancy infrared motion detector, they used an old fashioned ‘can and fishing line’ noise maker, just in case.

Then at about two am, the old style alarm went off....

There were five guys, in commando gear (light armor, military fatigues, rifles and night vision rigs) and they apparently had a means of killing the infra-red. Someone, however, missed the wire. And all three women rolled out of bed, armed.

“Two down!” Wolf put two in one’s chest, judging that pistol rounds wouldn’t go right through the vest. They DID knock the guy right down, leaving him stunned and breathless.

A crossbow bolt slammed into another guy’s shoulder, staggering him. “Heh!” Mimi smirked.

“Why did you bring THAT?” Red complained.

“You know I don’t like guns,” Mimi answered tersely.

The two remaining soldiers hesitated, then grabbed the wounded and tried to bolt.

“Stop or I’ll shoot!” Red yelled.

Before they could, them men vanished into the trees.

“Why...?” Mimi asked.

“I wanted to find out why they tried to sneak up on us,” Red growled.

“I could follow the scent,” Wolf offered, but Red shook her head.

“There could be others waiting to ambush us,” Red said grimly.

“It’s a trap!” Mimi quoted the infamous movie.

“YES, Admiral Ackbar, we got that...,” Wolf laughed.

“Well, I’m not trying to go back to bed,” Mimi noted as she looked around warily, “what’s the plan, bosses?”

“Yeah, I ain’t sleeping here,” Wolf agreed, scouting around. Very common, generic ammo scattered around. Partial metal jacketed, no hollow points or such. Odd.

“Agreed,” Red nodded, “pack up the camp, let’s get closer to the site the reports came from, see what we can see.”

They loaded up the van, and headed out. “I’m not sure they were that serious about killing us,” Wolf noted mildly.

“What.” Mimi asked.

“No hollow points. Or silver, for that matter. Wouldn’t they know normal ammo wouldn’t stop me or Red?” Wolf asked.

“Huh. Point,” Red muttered.

Mimi kept an eye on the road as she asked, “So, did you guys do something to make armed gunmen try to kill you?” She snorted, “I know it’s not me!”

“Damn if I know,” Wolf sighed.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The site wasn’t near any big cities. They could (probably) have based themselves out of Kitimat, but there would be a drive up the coast. Plus, basing themselves in town might be an issue if there was shooting, again. Getting arrested sucked They parked and got out, each hefting a rifle and Mimi, her trusty crossbow.

“Did you call Smith?” Mimi asked as they moved out.

“Yeah, via secure phone,” Red said flatly, “he claims he knows nothing about the attackers. Also there’s no Canadian Forces ops nearby.”

“Think he’s lying?” Wolf wondered.

“Dunno,” Red admitted.

“So the sightings were by deer hunters, right?” Mimi asked as they advanced.

“Yup,” Red agreed as they kept a eye out.

They weren’t that far from the shore, and could smell the sea. There were hunting and fishing lodges not that far away, either...

“Anything?” Red addressed Wolf, who was sniffing at the air.

“Nothing but human scents. Might be the trace has faded away, though,” Wolf cautioned.

“Hmph,” Mimi grunted. “Don’t Wendigo attack you on sight?” she mused aloud.

“Theoretically...,” Red agreed.

“So if we’re not being attacked, no Wendigo,” Mimi said reasonably.

“Well, yeah,” Wolf conceded.

The group advanced through the woods, looking for whatever had caused the monster reports to come in. Sadly, there wasn’t much sign of anything.

“Can we just say ‘screw this’ and go to Kitimat and check into a hotel?” Mimi asked eventually.

“No,” Red answered flatly.

Wolf gestured them to silence. “I hear movement up ahead,” she told them quietly.

“Wendigo?” Red whispered.

“People. I also smell gun oil... they’re armed,” Wolf answered.

Red and Mimi exchanged ‘what the fuck’ looks. Red decided, “Okay, we advance QUIETLY. Maybe we can catch them by surprise.”

They crept up, moving through the bush almost silently. Wolf was even quieter than the two women, moving like a graceful shadow. They cautiously came into sight of the armed men, then stiffened a bit in surprise.

It was the same five guys who had tried to jump them.

“You’re kidding me,” Mimi murmured softly.

“Spread out a bit... then we’ll jump them,” Red ordered. And in the end, it was just that simple....

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

“I feel like a Scooby Doo character,” Mimi muttered as they stood over their captives. Not far away was a concealed dock, and an expensive speedboat loaded down with... stuff.

“So you’ve been pretending to be monsters to drive away locals and protect your smuggling,” Wolf noted.

“Well, yeah,” the leader admitted weakly.

“You IDIOTS,” Red growled. “Do you realize we were sent up here on a shoot to kill job? If you had popped up in disguise, we’d have shot you!”

“Eeep,” one of the men whimpered.

“And why did you come after us with guns?” Wolf demanded.

“We heard from a contact in Vancouver that Hunters were coming,” the leader admitted, “I figured costumes wouldn’t scare you off.”

“So instead you got your asses kicked via guns,” Mimi noted irritably. “Who’s your contact in Vancouver?” she demanded.

“I....” the one guy started.

Mimi casually pointed her crossbow at his eye.

“They’re with Bishop’s! That’s all I know!” the man yelped.

“Fuck,” Red sighed.

“Yeah,” Mimi agreed grimly.

“So what the fuck do we do with them now?” Wolf asked. She was still cranky over them shooting at her and Red... oh, and Mimi too.

Red sighed then growled out, “You know what? This is not our problem!” She addressed the lead goon, “We are leaving. But understand that we ARE reporting everything to the Province once we hit Vancouver.”

“We could pay you...” the one guy tried, then wilted under her glare.

“You’ll have a few days before the RCMP comes,” Red added, “clear out, and make sure we never hear from you again. Or we’ll just fucking shoot you all.”

“You think they’ll try going after us?” Mimi murmured as the three left.

“They’re not THAT stupid,” Wolf said, but did keep a wary eye behind them.

The five men were frantically loading the boat, clearly intending to flee in it. It looked like fighting them was the last thing on their minds.

“Why don’t we crash at a hotel in the city tonight?” Mimi suggested. “We never really took a break from your last trip....”

“Why not?” Wolf looked at Red, who nodded.

To be continued....

Notes: I was originally thinking of doing a monster hunt, but all the bits I’ve written so far on these characters has been that. So decided to do something more mundane.


End file.
